The age impresses itself into human deeds and creations. The book of I.P. Lapin is a vivid example of this. For more than half a century of scientific activity, the author not only met with many wonderful people, but also realized the deep atmosphere of the spiritual existence of contemporaries without any discounts for "such a time" and with full preservation of human dignity despite the pressure of evil forces. It is one of the rare books without which the past fades.